In the Shadow Gallery
by Remember 1105
Summary: Evey and V trying to build a relationship in the Gallery. Evey gets sick and V tries his own brand of healing.
1. Escapades

Evey looked at V as the credits rolled on the screen. He looked tired. Not so much in his face, since that was always covered with the ever smiling façade of Guy Fawkes, but in his posture. She silently wished she could do something for him. It had been three months since her rescue from Jordan Tower. He said she had acted bravely. She had said she was foolish. Evey smiled and shook her head. V glanced over at her and she pretended to yawn. It was late after all, and yawning wasn't so odd.

"It is rather late Evey," V said, looking at her through cavernous black holes in his mask. "I will be going out tonight, do not wait up for me."

She could tell by his tone that this wasn't a lighthearted warning. He was serious. He was doing something dangerous, especially dangerous tonight. She hoped he wouldn't get hurt, but that was always a possibility. Especially since "terrorism" was such a dangerous occupation. She always worried about him when he left at night. She had gotten so used to having V around all of the time; she had learned to love the Shadow Gallery and its quirks. There was always something fascinating to be found in one of the corners, a world of its own, that's what the Gallery was.

"Evey?" V asked, shaking Evey from her thoughts.

"Yes, okay. I won't stay up. But…" she stopped and looked down at her hands, which were intertwined with each other.

"Go on," V said, his voice gentle as always. Deep and comforting.

"But do be careful, V. Be extra careful," she said, suddenly looking into his eyes, pleading with him.

V stopped. His hand was frozen in midair. He was about to push himself up from the couch but her words stopped the action. Evey watched this strange reaction. She had often thought about his safety but never mentioned it to him, never wished him safety before. Maybe it was too much for him to be cared for. She watched him lower his face to look at his hands and then lean back in contemplation. What she guessed to be contemplation, at least. She heard his breath hit the inside of his mask softly, his breathing was really slow.

V looked down from the ceiling, turning the mask toward Evey. "I shall be careful, sweet Evey, if only for your sake." V got up from the couch and offered his hand to Evey. She took it and was escorted back to her room, down the hall from V's own chamber. "Good night, my dear."

"Be safe, V," Evey whispered and looked at her door. She felt his gaze upon her. She turned the door handle, shut herself in her room, and leaned against the door. "Please be safe."

vVv

V gazed at the door after Evey shut it. She had sounded so desperate. Was she pleading with him? Pleading for his safety? How strange. V walked down the hall to his own room and looked at the knives that were lying across his dresser. They gleamed sinisterly in the light of the room and foretold of the coming action that was inevitable. Tonight was a night that held grief in its grip, fog eerily creeping in the streets of London. After the reward that was posted for his or Evey's arrest, V had been especially lethal. He did not want to get caught. He had less than a year before his plan came to fruition. He could not get caught when planning was in its final stages and actions were needed to keep on target.

Tonight he had a meeting with Eric Finch. Of course, Finch wouldn't have any men with him since Creedy took over the main search, but Finch could be dangerous enough with a gun in his hand. And what was with Evey's warning about his caution? Did she have less faith in him than she had originally? Was he more likely to slip up tonight? No, it was just a meaningless caution, said in remembrance of the film they had just finished, _Casablanca._ But he had gotten Elsa in the end. He had found his love. V believed he had found his too, but love or no love, his plan must be completed.

V sheathed his knives in his belt, tied his cape around his neck, and placed the hat on top of his head. His boots were polished to a brilliant shine; he could see the gleam of his mask in them. V stretched his hands in his leather gloves. He was ready to meet Mr. Finch.

V left his room and walked toward the entrance to the Gallery. He slowed by Evey's door but after listening to the silence as he crept passed he moved quickly to the outside where the air nearly knocked him over. Something was odd. There was tear gas coming from a few blocks away but V went in the opposite direction. He didn't have time to see what the commotion was, he had to meet Finch.

V quickly walked in the shadows, carefully avoiding the light, although his mask shone brilliantly in the dark anyway. He had reached the end of the street and climbed a fire escape to the roof. It was clearer on the roof. He could see almost the whole of the city. A faint breeze made his wig move slightly. A few more blocks and Finch would have a steely surprise.

V made quick work of the jumps between buildings, eventually landing on the inspector's roof. He ran down the building and stopped right above Finch's living room window. He breathed deeply. _Be extra careful._ He grabbed the edge of the roof and swung down silently onto the ledge. The television was on, Finch facing the screen. _Be safe._ V tried the window and was surprised to find it open. His boots creaked on the wood floor and Finch jerked. Obviously he had been asleep. V quickly grabbed a knife with each hand and placed one across the inspector's neck. Finch was wide awake now, perfectly still against the cold blade of the knife. His breathing was strained, shallow, as he felt the steel graze his skin, enough to give a silent warning. V placed a scrambler on the end table after he put away one of his knives.

"Hello, Mr. Finch," V said in a very deep, hoarse voice. "Let's have a little chat, shall we?"

vVv

Evey stood at the door for a while, leaning on it for support. Why did she care so much? Evey dressed for bed and brushed her honey colored hair. She normally wore it in a loose bun, but wore it down when she slept. It was somehow relaxing to brush her hair. She could just let her mind wander and think about what was going through her at that moment.

She was so scared, so angry at him for taking her, but felt relief and actually safe while she remained in the Gallery. She had never had a home after her parents died. She was in the Juvenile Reclamation Project and was bounced from house to house, never having enough time to actually stay anywhere to call it a home. After a few months of that, she was put in a large building, like an orphanage, but worse. Food once a day, maybe twice. Communal bathroom. Sharing beds with girls and rats, as well as cockroaches and other insects. She had love for eight years of her life, then it was gone, swiftly eradicated by black bags.

Evey stopped stroking her hair with the brush. Her eyes had become blurry. She had not felt this scared since she watched the riot on the tele. She had been so afraid that her parents were going to die. And then the bagmen came. The visions filled her nightmares during her years in the Reclamation Project. Her roommates all cried in their sleep, so she was not alone. But then again, she was.

She couldn't bear to think of her childhood any longer. She turned off the light and collapsed on the bed, watching out for books that might have been knocked in her passing. But in her bed her thoughts changed. She was so scared for V. How could he go out almost every night in the cover of darkness and wreak more havoc in London? She had never been very religious, but she prayed for his safety. She prayed that he would return. She didn't want to be left alone again. She was safe and comfortable with V. Yes, he had his quirks, but he was genuine. He cared about her welfare, about her.

Evey turned to face the ceiling. Did she care for him as well? Of course she cared about how he was feeling and what he thought, but did she care for him on a more personal level? Evey stared at the empty space above her bed. She _had_ started to care for him! She had never told him to be cautious before. She wanted him to return - return to her. Evey wanted to think about this some more, but sleep was overtaking her. She had never slept so soundly until she entered the Shadow Gallery; until she found a home.

vVv

There was a loud bang. Evey jerked awake, her hair covering her face. She sat up and grabbed a robe V had procured for her a month ago. She glanced at the clock on the floor by one of the many piles of books. 4:33 AM. Was V getting home, only now? Evey crept to her door and opened it only a crack. She heard the soft music of the jukebox flowing through the Gallery. She loved that sound. She saw a light coming from the television room, but heard only the soft lyrics sung by a male voice.

_Why is it I spend the day,_

_Wake up and end the day_

_Thinking of you?_

_Why does it do this to me?_

_Is it such bliss to be_

_Thinking of you?_

_And when I fall asleep at night_

_It seems_

_You just tiptoe_

_Into all my dreams_

_Oh, I think of no other one_

_Ever since I've begun_

_Thinking of you._

Fred Astaire. She loved that voice. It was calming. Maybe she should just go back to sleep. He told her not to stay up for him. But she didn't. But how was he supposed to know that? He was probably leaning against the jukebox just listening to the music. He was prone to do that. Evey liked that about him. He was able to stand perfectly still and just enjoy the work; listening as if nothing else mattered, listening as if that was the only sound in the world.

vVv

V limped a little. It was not as bad as it could have been, but he needed ice. If Finch had just told him what he needed it would not have happened! V put his hat and cape on the hat stand by the jukebox. He limped over to the kitchen and dug in the freezer for some ice. If only he had noticed that the window ledge was rotten, he would not have twisted his ankle trying to jump out of it.

V set his hat on the end table and draped his cape on the back of the couch in the television room as he went into the kitchen to get some ice. _Be careful_. So much for that warning. _Be safe_. Well, he was safe, just not as safe as she had wanted him to be. Evey. What would she say about his carelessness? V grabbed an icepack from the freezer and sat down at the table. He pulled off his boot and put the ice on his ankle.

V noticed he still had his belt on and reached to unbuckle it. He was tired. He wished he could just go to sleep, be careless for once. But that was never a possibility. V thought he heard a rustle near Evey's door and quickly slid on his boot. He paused, waiting to see Evey slip into the hallway, but nothing happened. V sighed. Was it relief or disappointment? He didn't know. He had only a few hours to sleep before he would make Evey breakfast as he did every morning.

V stood stretching his leg cautiously and gently putting his foot on the ground. He made his way to his bedroom and felt sleep overtake him. He barely landed on the bed and had taken his boots off when he was immersed in a dreamless sleep.

vVv

Evey placed her left hand on the doorknob and the other against the wall. She heard his door shut and breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't heard her slip and catch herself on the wall. She thought she had been quiet, but one can never tell with V. He seems to know everything and hear most everything. He sees things before they play out. Like every time she tried to beat him at chess. She found that she really didn't like that game.

Evey stepped back from the door and sat on the edge of the bed. She was no longer tired. It felt as if she had been awake for ages. But she didn't want to leave the confines of her room to disturb V. That was the last thing that she would want to do. He needed sleep as well as Evey. She lay back on her bed and stared at the black ceiling. Every time the lights were turned off the whole Gallery turned black since there were no windows. She sometimes relished in the emptiness, sometimes shook in its embrace. She closed her eyes, her world still dark. Evey lay still on the bed breathing evenly. She was bored. She couldn't stay in this room like this much longer. It was one of the times where the darkness held no comfort.

She moved again to the door and opened it silently. Evey stepped out into the hall with a light robe over her pajamas, her feet softly padding on the stone floor. She crept along a passage and peered into the room with the television. She felt her way to the couch and sat down searching for the remote. She turned the screen on and the familiar glow made her feel more comfortable. The volume was turned down low and Evey curled up on the couch. She watched a rerun of Gordon's television show and then the news flashed on. She didn't hear anything that the reporter said, but the woman blinked too much. She was lying about whatever story she was telling. Evey soon fell asleep watching the mute reporters. Her hand holding the remote fell to the floor and her hand brushed the stone as the remote clattered out of her hand.

vVv

V awoke suddenly. He had barely been asleep. He was just about to fall into a deep slumber when he subconsciously heard a high-pitched noise and then a clatter. He got up and tested his ankle. It was a little better, but he could feel that it was still swollen. V pulled on his boots and walked cautiously to the door. Evey shouldn't be awake at this hour.

He pulled the door open and walked into the hall. There was a light coming from the television room. He walked slowly and looked around the corner through his mask. V sighed. Evey was there on the couch. He had not vacated it an hour ago, yet there she slept. V crept over to the couch silently and placed a blanket on Evey's sleeping form. He would have picked her up, but with the fear of waking her, he decided not to. He turned the tele off, glanced at Evey once more, and went back to bed.

vVv

Evey woke up on the sofa with a blanket halfway covering her. Her hand had scraped the stone floor and her knuckles were scratched. The lights in the Gallery were dim, probably V being courteous and respectful of Evey. He was always thoughtful that way. In the little things he did he always showed her great difference and was respectful to her wishes.

Evey rubbed her eyes and stretched like a cat. She heard the rattle in the kitchen and knew V was cooking breakfast. He was such a great cook. Evey had not even dared to cook anything while in the Shadow Gallery because of the excellence of V's own dishes. She smelled coffee in the musty air of the television room. It floated like a haze into the room and surrounded the sofa with the smell of coffee beans. Evey rested her head on the armrest and listened to the noises. There was the ticking of the mantle clock, the rattling of V in the kitchen, the soft hum of the electricity that ran throughout the underground lair. Then she heard her own heartbeat. She closed her eyes and felt completely relaxed in a place that was utterly foreboding, but since V was there it didn't matter. He made everything feel right.

She smelt him before she heard him and felt him even before he entered the room. V looked down at the reposing Evey. "Good morning, mademoiselle."

Evey opened her eyes lazily and looked up at V, who was leaning over the back of the sofa, his hands resting on the top. "Good morning."

Evey made an effort to rise and took V's proffered hand in assistance. "Could you not sleep?" asked V, in a concerned tone.

"No. I mean, I did for a while, but I woke and couldn't fall asleep again so I came out here to watch something on the tele, and I guess I fell asleep."

"Yes, so I would gather." V escorted Evey to the kitchen, turning on a few lights as he went by them. Evey knew this was mostly for her benefit, because V could see perfectly well in complete darkness as well as in brightly lit rooms. Evey, on the other hand, stumbled against everything in the dark.

Evey noticed he had a slight limp on his right leg, but decided not to say anything about it. She had begged him to take care of himself, but obviously her words were unheeded. She was disappointed that he would be so careless as to get himself injured, but it was a job that had required certain risks. He put his life on the line most nights for the people of England, and hopefully, even for her.

She did not want him to get hurt, however romantic it was. She wanted him whole. V sat her at the kitchen table and put a plate of French toast before her. Evey was quite hungry and was glad to have something else to concentrate on other than her feelings about V's safety. He had probably tried and by Providence he was injured. He didn't look too badly hurt though, he was still walking after all.

V sat down across from Evey and stared into her coffee cup. "The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce," V stated, still looking at the ceramic mug.

"Yes, 'behind every successful woman there is a substantial amount of coffee," Evey replied after finishing a forkful of toast.

V looked up at Evey and saw a small smile. He loved her smiles. They were not overenthusiastic, but just enough to show appreciation or genuine pleasure in something. V gazed about his kitchen and found that nothing could bring him pleasure more than the person in front of him.

Before Evey he had lived alone in his lair and plotting against everyone from Larkhill. He read a lot, watched the reports on the news, and went out to do business. He lived a solitary and lonely life, he realized now. When Evey came he was bewildered. He couldn't help but try and take her to safety, even if it meant that she had to be captured and taken away. He couldn't let the government black bag her too. Not after she tried to save his life.

After breakfast Evey showered and dressed and went to work trying to organize he books in her room. She had gone throughout the Gallery and cleaned and organized and had purposely left her room for last. There were so many books that she would have to alphabetize them by author so at least they could find one easily. She sat on the floor digging the books out from underneath her small bed. Although it was low to the ground, there were at least fifty books underneath. She gathered al of them and put them in their own piles next to her bed. This was getting ridiculous.

Evey sat back on her heels. "Why do you have so many books?" she asked to herself, not knowing that V was walking by her door at that particular moment after his fight with the suit of armor.

"'For friends... do but look upon good Books: they are true friends, that will neither flatter nor dissemble'," V said leaning against the doorjamb.

"Friends?" Evey asked turning around.

"'These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but _minds_ alive on the shelves. From each of them goes out its own voice... and just as the touch of a button on our set will fill the room with music, so by taking down one of these volumes and opening it, one can call into range the voice of a man far distant in time and space, and hear him speaking to us, mind to mind, heart to heart'." V raised his right hand to encompass all the books in her room.

"If I had a heart to heart with you, I'd start ranting, V."

V looked down on Evey as she stared up at him. "And why is that my dear?"

She couldn't take it anymore; she had to say something about his injury. He wasn't doing anything to help it by fighting and lunging at that stupid knight. "Have you iced your leg?" Evey asked looking down at one of her many piles of books.

"Iced my leg?" V replied, all innocence.

"Yes! You obviously hurt yourself last night. The one night I tell you to be careful you hurt yourself! Oh V, I jinxed you," Evey lamented, her eyes scrutinizing a hardback novel.

V kneeled and took her hands in his. "You could never jinx me, sweet Eve. Providence was against me last night, but I returned. I am safe."

"'Better a thousand times careful than once dead'".

"'Who can hope to be safe? Who sufficiently cautious? Guard himself as he may, every moment's an ambush'," V stated looking at his fingers intertwined with hers.

"You aren't going out tonight, V, are your?" Evey sounded so pathetic and like a child who was afraid to be left alone in the dark. But that was what she was essentially; left in the dark at night to be alone when V went out for an escapade.

"No, not tonight."

Evey sighed, relieved that they would have another night just being in one another's company.

V stood and looked down at the now blushing Evey. He smiled behind his mask. "There is a movie I would wish you to see. It's called _Lawrence of Arabia_. I think you'll like it."

"Alright," Evey said. "Is it long?"

"Shorter than some, longer than most."

"It seems I am getting no where with this conversation, so if you don't have any plans, we could start it now."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," V replied and held out his elbow so Evey could grab it.


	2. Ideas

Evey was puttering around her room in the hours after watching _Lawrence of Arabia._ She thought Lawrence was quite handsome and had a lot to do with V. He tried to help the different tribes to come together, to fight Ottoman and European rule. He was the liaison to both groups and succeeded in bringing about peace.

Evey moved her books that she had started to alphabetize and sat down staring at the wall. _If only V could bring peace to this country without resorting to knives._ She started twirling her hair with her finger, a common thing she did when she was thinking. She heard V in one of the rooms of the Gallery fighting that suit of armor he was so fond of. Evey smiled. It was a day like this that she really appreciated what V had done for her. How amazing it was to be kept underground in a terrorist's home and feel completely safe.

Evey sat staring at the wall for what seemed to be an hour. Her head had begun to pound as her thoughts trailed. And it wasn't only her head that had begun to hurt.

V had moved on from practicing his swordplay to cooking dinner. Soon the smell of food wafted into Evey's room, arousing her from her thoughts. Evey rose from her seat, taking note of how stiff she was and how ill she felt. As she walked out into the Gallery she rubbed her neck, trying to make the stiffness go away.

"That smells really good V," Evey said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Anything to please, my dear," V replied, barely glimpsing up.

Evey liked watching him cook. It was art for him. Years of living alone must have given him ample practice to be a good cook. He would have to eat what he cooked, even if it was bad. Evey smiled at the thought of V eating burnt eggy in a basket. But V had never eaten in front of her. It was an unsaid rule that while Evey ate V would talk, waiting until after she was done and had left the kitchen to enjoy his own meal.

V noticed her staring but decided to keep quiet on the subject. He was prone to do the same thing. He often caught himself staring at Evey when he didn't realize he had been doing so. He especially watched her when they enjoyed movies together. He was always waiting to see her reaction to certain parts and was always surprised at what they were. She had cried when Eliza Doolittle had been scorned by Professor Higgins in _My Fair Lady_ and had almost thrown a pillow at the tele when Jane found out Mr. Rochester was married in _Jane Eyre_. He had to take the pillow away from her to stop her from chucking it.

V smiled. He finished up dinner and set a plate before Evey. He sat down across from her and decided to ask how the book sorting was going.

"Fair, I mean, it's a long process and my mind isn't really into it at the moment."

"Drifting thoughts?" V asked. He had plenty of those in recent weeks, especially ones dealing with the person sitting across from him.

"Yes." Evey ate her food slowly, heat rising through her body. She hoped V would change the subject, which he did.

"I shall have to procure shelves for your books. It shouldn't be all that hard. You should have them in a day or two. It will be easier on you if you had a place to put them."

"That would be great, V, thanks," Evey said, sighing inwardly at the fact he didn't ask what her drifting thoughts included.

V noticed her shifting and decided that tomorrow he would go out and get a bookcase or two. It shouldn't be that hard. He would merely have to take them from one of Sutler's train cars or maybe take them from his personal store. Either way, he would make sure Evey had a bookcase. He had meant to get bookcases long ago, but things always happened to become a priority over the bookcases. But Evey's voice cut through his thoughts.

"I think I'm going to go to bed V. I'm not feeling too well."

"I hope you're not catching a cold, Eve," V said concerned for her welfare.

"I'm sure it's nothing. I'll get over it in the next day or so."

Evey rose from her seat and put her plate in the sink. She paused at the doorway to the kitchen, "Thanks for dinner, V."

V gave a little bow and watched her leave for her room. He turned to retrieve his own food only to find that he couldn't eat it. He was concerned. She hadn't been sick since he had brought her in a couple months ago, but it _was_ winter.

V ate only a few bites of food before he started to travel into the deeper depths of the Gallery to turn up the heat.

vVv

Evey woke in the middle of the night sweating and panting for breath. She had gone to bed hours ago, but she couldn't stay asleep for more than thirty minutes. She was either sweating profusely or shivering until her muscles ached. Evey shoved the blankets to the end of her bed and tried to cool down. _Maybe I could get a drink to help cool me off._

She left her room as quietly as she could, trying not to wake V. He got little sleep as it was and she didn't want to disturb him once he had found time to rest. She padded down the hall and into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it with water. The liquid felt cool on her tongue and helped her to cool down, if only for a moment. Evey put the glass to her forehead, trying to cool the fever she had.

"Evey?"

A voice came from the doorway of the kitchen and made her spin around. She had dropped the glass, making it shatter on the floor around her feet, as she spun.

"V!"

"Don't move Evey, you'll hurt yourself." V was still wearing his normal clothes and walked on the glass to rescue Evey from the middle of the floor. He picked her up and carried her into the main room where he set her down.

"Why are you up, dear Eve?" V asked looking at her with the utmost concern.

"I… I'm not feeling well. I thought some water would help."

V reached to touch her forehead through his gloves. She was quite warm. "Eve, you should get back to bed. Rest is one of the best things for colds."

"But the mess…"

"I'll clean it in the morning. Come."

V grabbed hold of her shoulder and led her to her room. Evey was helpless against the firm grip he had on her arm and so obeyed his motions.

Evey sat on her bed and got under the covers. She still had a fever and the shivering was coming back. She had gotten sick only a few times in her life and each time was worse. Because she was normally so healthy, the sicknesses that brought her down were tough, so they were really very serious.

V left to get her some water and a damp cloth to put on her forehead. She looked very bad. She was pale and her body had a cold sweat running over it. He was glad he turned up the heat in the Gallery. After a few hours of watching her get steadily worse, V had to do something. There had to be some medicine in his supply of other stolen articles.

V watched Evey a moment more and whispered that he would be right back. He stood abruptly and went to his bathroom. He searched the medicine cabinet and looked at each of the pill bottles' labels. Nothing. Nothing that would work for Evey could be found. Allergy and pain medication yes, but illness no. He had never felt so helpless in his life.

V returned to Evey and found her passed out. _Probably for the best_. He sat there holding her hand in his, changing the cloth on her head, and repeating soothing words and quotes from various people. He had never seen anyone so sick, besides those in the Larkhill facility. Evey was losing every ounce of color she had and was pouring sweat. Her eyes were shut, but he could still see those eyes which looked at him only hours ago, full of need.

V looked around the dim room as he sat in silent vigil over Evey. He looked at the small pieces of furniture scattered around the room. Nothing really caught his attention until he looked over at the vanity table. Evey's personal items were on its top, and her bag lay atop most of the contents. He saw a white card sticking out of the opening.

Rising from his seat, V strode to the table and picked up the card. It was Evey's BTN identification card. He stood looking at it for some time, wondering about all the possibilities that were now opened to him. He glanced at Evey, slightly ashamed of his stealing from her. But then another thought came into his head. He would have to move quickly. But it had to be tomorrow night. He would have to keep his vigil tonight and then set about his work on the morrow. As he gripped Evey's card in his hand he knew what to do; now there was only to plan it.


	3. Encounters

**Personal Note:** I want to thank everyone for their reviews. I've been meaning to say it for a while, but I keep forgetting. Story of my life. ALSO, if you have been wondering where I get all my quotes that V says, I'm not going to list them. I find them at: quotegarden It's quite helpful. Thanks again for all the great comments. And yes, I noticed in the first chapter that V places his hat and cloak in two separate places. Choose your favorite and ignore the other. I'm too new to this to actually fix it. But I appreciate you pointing out my mistakes, I need all the help I can get.

Oh, and I twisted the following scene to my mind's eye to fit the story. It's what happens in the movie but with my own added flair, and since I couldn't remember the exact phrases you got by botched ones, but they fit. Sorry if it pisses people off, but it's my story.

* * *

V twisted the card in his hand as he watched Evey toss and turn in her sleep. His plans were hatching in his mind, trying to offer what little solace they could. He was finally doing something to try and cure his Evey. When did he come to think of Evey as his? He had noticed that he had grown attached to the girl, but he didn't think it had become so overwhelming. She had been in the Gallery only a little over a month and yet it seemed like forever. 

He sat watching her and his heart ached to see her suffering so. He looked at the clock and the red lights showed it was 9:27AM. It had felt so much longer. He had sat there since around midnight just watching her breathe, making sure nothing happened to her. He had never had to deal with anyone but himself before. It was an odd feeling to care for someone in his care. He was so used to only dealing with himself.

V rose from his position by Evey's bed and wandered out into the main room. He wandered to the jukebox and hit a button. Music filled the Gallery and the soft melody encircled V as he leaned against the glass. The music helped V work out how he'd get into the building and what he was going to do once inside. Having Evey's pass card was really going to help him further his plans towards November the fifth as well as his plans in helping Evey. The card made things a whole lot easier. Prothero would never see him coming.

vVv

V had donned his cape and his hat before he left that night. He had stayed with Evey all day, putting a wet cloth on her forehead and arms, trying to cool her of her fever. It made him more determined to do what he must.

V hadn't expected this victim to come so soon, but he was glad he had the perfect opportunity. His plans were going quickly which meant that the Fifth was going to go smoothly as long as nothing came between him and Justice.

As he wound his way through back alleys and rooftops V's adrenaline was pumping. He hadn't had the opportunity to kill one of his torturers in a long time. There were only a few left now since the rest had been relatively minor. The ones he saved for last were of the utmost importance; they had dealt him the most horrific punishments ending with the most horrific pain. V smiled underneath his mask. It wasn't a happy smile, really. It was rather of satisfaction that his vengeance was almost complete.

V had arrived at the office building where Prothero was working late. Of course, V had to snap a few guards' necks and one even ended up having a knife in his back, but it was necessary. It was all necessary. He would have no interruptions tonight. He would make sure of that.

V swiped Evey's card in front of the scanner and allowed himself in Prothero's office. There was a loud commotion in the bathroom so V decided that would be the best place to start. He entered the bathroom silently and was amazed by the many teles that were mounted on the walls. It was a strange sight. One V knew to belong only to Prothero as he recited his lines as they were playing on the screen. He was shouting them, actually.

V calmly waited until after Prothero was done showering and stepped out of the glass encased shower. He decided that he didn't want to ruin his boots too much in this man's egotistical bathroom any more than he wanted him to live. There was a phone that Prothero left on the sink. _Never fully thinking things through, Prothero._

When Prothero had taken some pills out of the medicine cabinet and shut the mirrored door it was then that he saw V in the reflection. V startled the man and made him fall onto the dark navy tile, throwing the phone that was in his grasp. V sneered. _Finally._ V stepped closer to the squirming man ever so slowly. He would make his enemy's fear last.

"Good Evening,Commander."

"You!" shouted Prothero as he tried to reach for his phone.

"I have already taken the precaution, Commander. We shall be receiving no pesky midnight phone calls."

"Who are you?"

"I am but a phantom, Commander, nothing but a phantom."

Prothero was pulling himself along the wet tiles to propel himself away from the masked vigilante. He wasn't doing so well and V smiled in satisfaction.

"Unfortunately my schedule was sped up by a bout of illness, but you would know all about that wouldn't you, Commander?"

"Stop it! Why do you keep calling me that?"

"That was your title a number of years ago, wasn't it, when you held a post at a certain rehabilitation center?"

"No…" Prothero trailed, ending in horrified silence.

"Yes, the Ghost of Christmas Past," V said hoarsely. "'How many does it take to metamorphose wickedness into righteousness? One man must not kill. If he does, it is murder…But a state or nation may kill as many as they please. And it is not murder. It is just, necessary, commendable, and right. Only get people enough to agree to it, and the butchery of myriads of human beings is perfectly innocent. But how many does it take?'" V paused. "Now I shall bid you farewell, for you are certainly not innocent after the butchery you've committed." V made quick work of slicing Prothero's throat and laying a rose on his chest.

He then approached the medicine cabinet. It had to have something of use in it. Upon opening the door, bottles poured forth into the sink. V looked at all the labels. There was everything from simple ibuprofen to laudanum. V took some bottles, about eleven, just to be safe. There had to be something in there that would work for Evey. He stuffed the bottles in a bag tied to his waist, making sure there were plenty still left in the cabinet to convict the man, and shut the door. V crept stealthily out of the room and back into the office. Hearing some footprints outside, he turned to the window and leapt quietly out of it.


	4. Shadows

I'm grateful for all the feedback. I'm sorry it takes me awhile to update. Summer classes and work take a lot of time, as well as the pile of novels that I have waiting for me to read. But thanks for all your support, it's really a blessing and an encouragement! I'll try to update soon, but I can't promise anything.

* * *

Evey felt beyond sick. She basically wanted to die. Her stomach was empty, not being able to keep anything down and her bed was soaked with her sweat. She had never felt this bad before. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't seen the sun in weeks. It could be that there were creepy insects or rats, even though V kept the Shadow Gallery especially clean. V. Where was he? She remembered he was there for the longest time. She felt his touch on her hand. It was such a comfort to have him there.

Evey had been fading in and out of dreams throughout the night. Around midnight she had a particularly violent nightmare.

_"Evey, dearest, you are much too sick to be wandering about the Gallery." V said._

_"I'm fine, V. I need to get up, I'm sick of that bed."_

_"I won't let you become more ill."_

_Evey found herself being pushed into her room by V. She entered her room only to find it to be a cell. "V?" she called._

_There wasn't an answer. She turned around and saw a man silhouetted in the doorway. The door shut with a thunderous smack. She looked around the room and found only a toilet. Evey curled up into a ball on the stone floor and shuddered in the cold._

_She hoped that V would save her. She wouldn't give him up. She knew that. She had grown to care for him too much to give him up to the government. She knew she was in one of their centers - the centers where only the black-bagged would ever see the walls inside._

_Evey reached up to run her hands through her hair only to find her head shaved. She jumped up and looked hurriedly around the room to find a mirror. Nothing. She felt it though. There was nothing on her head but maybe an inch of hair. This had to be a dream._

_Evey curled up in the corner and buried her head in her arms. She wouldn't cry. This wasn't real. This was a dream. It had to be a dream. V wouldn't do this to her. V would try to make her better. V. Where was he? She needed him most at this moment and he was nowhere to be found. Where could he be?_

_Evey lifted her head and found herself in a dark alley. It was similar to the one V found her in, if not the same one. She wandered down the alley, hiding in the shadows so she was not seen. She made her way to a corner and peeked around it. She felt a dull thunk vibrate through her skull and blinked hard. She hadn't passed out, but now her attacker was chasing her._

_Evey made her way back through the alley and into the streets of London, not caring who saw her, only caring about outrunning the man chasing her. She ran through the streets familiar and yet unfamiliar to her. She thought she knew where she was going but ended up in a dead end. She could hear the man breathe heavily at the opening of the alley. He had a truncheon in his hand. Evey looked around her. She couldn't find anything that would constitute as a weapon. Evey glanced in the direction of her pursuer. He was large. And his voice was cold, even though winded._

_"You can run no longer, Miss Hammond. Your terrorist companion is gone, and now we must put an end to this…insurrection before it starts."_

_"V…" it came out only as a whisper but Evey could feel hot tears running down her cheeks. He couldn't be…there was no way…but he said…V wouldn't get caught, he was an idea. Ideas don't get caught, just carry on. Evey was reeling slightly on her feet. She gripped the wall behind her and slid to the ground. V wasn't dead. He was too skilled to be caught. Evey couldn't breathe. She gripped her throat willing it to open, but it was constricting as the thought of V caught up to her brain._

_"No…"_

_"Yes, Miss Hammond. You will come to the same end as your friend, and we shall be rid of the infestation before it grows worse."_

_Evey got a blow to the face before she saw him coming, and was too slow to defend herself from the truncheon as it came down on her side._

Evey woke sweating and panting for breath. Her lungs had seemed to stop breathing for a few moments in her terrorized sleep and had left her gasping for air.

Evey ran a weary hand across her damp forehead and remembered where she was. V was somewhere in the Gallery, probably reading, or maybe he had gone out. Wherever he was, he was not at her bedside and it was frightening to her. She would have rather woken up with him staring at her, than having him nowhere in sight.

Evey felt around for the covers and found the edge. She threw them off and slowly raised herself into a sitting position. Her robe was at the end of her bed and she tied it around herself. Evey rose unsteadily to her feet and fell back onto the bed. But she would not be deterred from her goal. She would find where the masked vigilante was. She had to, to reassure herself that this indeed was real. Her feet hit the stone floor again and Evey held herself erect. She tiptoed slowly, trying not to lose her balance, and made it to the door. She entered the hallway and leaned against the wall for support. Her eyes scanned everything from the myriad of paintings to the couch and even that old suit of armor V was fond of, but nothing revealed the man himself.

Feeling incredibly weak, Evey landed as gracefully as possible, under her condition, onto the couch. She rested her head where V usually sat and brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around a pillow. She would wait here, if her body would let her stay awake. She would wait all night if that's what it took.

vVv

V succeeded in bringing all the bottles into the Gallery completely unseen. After he had made his escape from Prothero's office, he had climbed down the fire escape and made it to the ground before anyone found him. After diving into the shadows of the street across the way from his office V slipped by fingermen and the Norsefire surveillance.

Upon entering his home, V saw the door to Evey's room open. He quickly went to the door and looked in. She wasn't there.

V's heart started to race and wondered where she went. He checked the bathroom, checked the kitchen, checked her room again to make sure she didn't return and made his way for the television room. V entered from the rear, which faced the back of the couch and he decided then and there that he was not going to leave Evey alone again until she felt much better.

Still in hat and cloak V looked over the top of the couch and found Evey resting fitfully in his seat. V smiled. It would have been endearing had her condition not been so bad.

V walked around the couch and kneeled on the floor in front of it. He took off his gloves and brushed his hand gently over her forehead, rearranging stray curls so he could feel if she had a fever. He tucked a few strands behind her ear and caught himself gazing at the sleeping form.

In his moments' uncertainty, Evey's eyes fluttered open, revealing depths that only opened in brief periods. V quickly gloved his hand.

"Hello," Evey smiled as she rubbed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the last vestiges of sleep.

"You shouldn't be out of bed in your condition, Evey," V replied, trying to be somewhat demanding, yet not quite able to attain it.

"I am growing sick of that bed. I've been in it for days and this is the first time I've been out," Evey said in a hoarse voice.

"Dear Eve, I know that I would have probably disobeyed doctor's orders as well, but in all actuality, the bed is the best place for you to be." V tried to encourage her to make her way on her own.

"I simply won't do it," Evey stated with a finality that shocked V.

"I won't let you become more ill," V said quite firmly. V pulled her gently off the couch and started to help her walk towards her room.

Evey suddenly had flash of her nightmare and refused to budge. She whipped around so fast V was barely able to keep them both standing as she flung herself to him. She quickly buried her head in his chest with her arms wrapping around his torso with an ethereal strength from one so sick. She sobbed into his doublet and just kept muttering "no" and "I won't" and "you can't," all quite incoherent to the masked vigilante who looked down at her. He had thought maybe the illness had taken its toll mentally as well as physically.

At a loss over what to do, V just stood there in the middle of the Gallery holding Evey tightly to his chest, wondering what he should do or at least say.

"Dearest Eve, whatever is the matter? Surely you don't despise that bed as much as this."

"I can't…I can't go back there, not now, not right now," she said into the fistfuls of V's shirt. Her tears ran silently down her cheek only to be soaked into V's shirtfront.

V didn't mind at all that she used him as her human tissue, except that he wanted to know why he was being used as such. He wanted to know what caused Evey to react to her bedroom with such vehemence. Perhaps in her delirious sleep she had a nightmare, but that was the only realistic reason he could find for her absolute abhorrence to it.

V held Evey for quite a few moments. After slowly releasing her arms from V she quickly had to grab him again. Her body was weak from whatever she was fighting and V quickly grasped her and picked her up before she fell. He gently laid her on the couch and sat next to her. "Are you alright, my dear?" V asked quite concerned.

"I'm…okay. Tired. Wet." Evey gave a small smile as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"May I ask why you are so afraid to return to your room, Eve?"

"It's nothing…I just had a nightmare…I don't want to go back in there tonight." Evey started to cough and V left to get her a glass of water.

Upon returning to the sofa he found Evey curled up in her spot. He set the glass on the table and sat down again. V switched on the tele knowing that Prothero's body would have yet to be reported, being only an hour at most from the deed.

V found Gordon Dietrich's program and left it on that station. Sound was always welcome in the Gallery and the sound of laughter was especially welcome in the present circumstances. V settled back into the sofa and glanced at Evey every few seconds as he watched girls in shimmering dresses and feathers prance across the screen.

As V continued to watch the screen he noticed a shift on the other side of the couch and felt something warm around him within seconds. V looked down to find Evey wrapping herself around him and leaning on him heavily. He was relieved to find that she no longer had a severe fever and though the coughing was bad, he had medication for whatever was ailing her. He just needed to look up what each medication dcured and he would give her whatever she needed.

V slid his arm around Evey's shoulders and felt her adjust. Whatever the demon was in her nightmares he would certainly vanquish it easily enough. She merely needed to tell him the beast and he would deal with the "virulent vermin." Evey grabbed his shirtfront in her small fist and clasped with all her might. V wondered how long it would be until she fell asleep again, but decided it really didn't matter. He would hold her all night and well into the next day if need be. He decided that eternity would be sweet indeed if he could only hold Evey close to him for the rest of it.


End file.
